Race Weekend Central

Joe Gibbs Racing Looks to Make 2015 Its Year

2014 Michigan Ii Cup Denny Hamlin Kyle Busch Racing Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photography)

November 2014: team owner Joe Gibbs was watching his team’s last chance for the Cup title slip away as the laps ticked down in the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Denny Hamlin, the team’s last hope as both Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch had already been eliminated from contention, ultimately fell short of the …

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Friday Faceoff: Title Sponsors, Crew Chiefs, and Petty Vs. Pearson…Vs. Gordon?

2014 Dover Ii Cup Pack Racing Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2014)

Welcome to Friday Faceoff! What do you get when you take some hot-button NASCAR topics and hand them over to our dedicated and… er, opinionated staff? A little disagreement and a whole lot of thought-provoking insight! Check out this week’s edition to see what everyone is arguing… um, we mean, discussing this week! 1. NASCAR …

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Did You Notice? … Distinguishing NASCAR Dreams From Reality

2014 Texas Ii Cup Ricky Stenhouse Jr Face Cia

(Credit: CIA Stock Photography)

Did You Notice? … The audience increased for this year’s version of the Chase? Homestead ratings, released Tuesday wrapped up the latest ten-race version of NASCAR’s playoff, a 3.1 Nielsen number flat year-to-year but still good enough to keep the audience rising. Yes, executives around the sport are trumpeting how much this postseason boosted interest. …

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NASCAR Mailbox: My Appeal to NASCAR – LEAVE IT ALONE!

2014 Homestead Cup Kevin Harvick Denny Hamlin, David Gilliland Racing Cia

(Credit: CIA Stock Photography)

Holy cow! It’s only been a few days since the final race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season and I’m still pumped up about it. I was cheering for no particular driver and yet I found my heart racing in the close laps of the race, unwilling at times to even look down …

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Power Rankings: Top 15 After Homestead

2014 Homestead Cup Kevin Harvick Burnout Cia

Four drivers entered the season finale at Homestead with one mission: finish ahead of the other three and win the 2014 Sprint Cup Series championship. There was a general consensus that whoever won the championship would also have to win the race, and that proved to be the case as all four drivers were strong …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: ESPN’s Field Of Four, Not 43

2014 Homestead Cup Denny Hamlin Cia

(Credit: CIA Stock Photography)

I’m going to make a statement up front before I even start the critique: I hate watching championship battles. Why? The race doesn’t even matter, only the points do. That’s why I prefer final events in which the championship is decided ahead of time; that way, the races can be covered fully instead of picking …

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Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in NASCAR: Homestead – Offseason Edition

2014 Atlanta Cup Tony Stewart Hand Cia

(Credit: CIA Stock Photography)

The Sprint Cup season is over, and it’s hard to let it go. The new Chase format gave new reason to religiously follow each of the final 10 races, while Homestead-Miami Speedway provided the perfect setting to finish off the year. After all, it’s tough to beat 80-degree weather in mid-November. This edition of Who’s …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud – Homestead – Cup Championship – A Cup Full of Budweiser

2014 Homestead Cup Kevin Harvick Burnout Ii Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2014)­

Key Moment – On the 11th caution flag of the night, Kevin Harvick’s crew chief Rodney Childers called for a four tire pit stop with 29 cars on the lead lap. When stops were completed Harvick was in 12th position. A quick caution afterwards allowed Harvick to restart in the sixth position. In a Nutshell …

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NASCAR’s Big Gamble… And Its Lucky Roll

2014 Homestead Cup Kevin Harvick Burnout Cia

NASCAR’s new Chase format entered the weekend with four possible championship outcomes. Two of them, regardless of fan loyalty, would have caused a major, Grand Canyon-sized rift in NASCAR history. Ryan Newman, who wound up one spot short of a title, would have had the fewest top-5 finishes for any champion since 1949. Denny Hamlin, …

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The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2014 Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead

Kevin Harvick raises the Sprint Cup trophy after winning the 2014 title at Homestead Miami Speedway

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

Looking for the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How behind Sunday’s race? Amy Henderson has you covered each week with the answers to six race-day questions, covering all five Ws and even the H… the Big Six. Who… gets my shoutout of the race? Most of Paul Menard‘s TV airtime came when he brushed …

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